(This is going to be a long one, so bear with me. Oh, here’s Day 1 and Day 2, in case you missed them.)

On my third day, I woke up fully aware that I could take it easy since I had no concrete plans for any tours. My agenda simply involved spending some time at the beach before checking out and transferring to my hotel in Tagbilaran. After a filling breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast, I set off on foot (dry bag in tow) towards Alona Beach.

Growing up, I was bombarded in school by books showing off photos of tiny bug-eyed primates clinging to branches with their tiny little hands, and hills that supposedly imitate Hershey’s Kisses in the summer. It piqued my interest enough to harbor a secret desire to see these things myself, and it didn’t help that I was constantly being reminded by Instagram that people were enjoying these attractions and I wasn’t. Having to constantly live on a budget restricts me from covering as much ground as possible, travel-wise, so when another Cebu Pacific Seat Sale came around, I immediately hit “Search” on Manila-Tagbilaran flights and booked a four-day trip.